Optical see-through displays are displays used in augmented reality (AR) applications where a synthetic image is displayed on a transparent display so that the user can view the real world through the display along with the synthetic image. A near-eye optical see-through display is an optical see-through display that is designed to be placed near the user's eyes. Examples of near-eye optical see-through displays include eyeglasses-mounted displays and other head-mounted displays.
One problem with conventional optical see-through near-eye displays is that the field of view of the synthetic image is limited to a fraction of the user's total field of view. As a result, synthetic images may appear cropped and, and tracked images may disappear and re-appear when the user's head moves. In some AR applications, it may be desirable for synthetic images to fill all of the user's horizontal field of view or at least the field of view that the user would normally see through corrective lenses in eyeglasses (about 100°). Conventional optical see-through displays provide less than a 100° field of view and many have complex optics, which increases the size and cost of the display unit. Accordingly, there exists a need for a compact optical see-through near-eye display with an improved field of view.